The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday served notice to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and lawmaker-son Rahul Gandhi over National Herald case. The case was registered recently to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper.
While Sonia Gandhi, 75, has been asked to depose before the federal agency on June 8, Rahul Gandhi is understood to have been asked to appear earlier. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference that the senior Gandhi will comply with the summons. “Rahul Gandhi will go if he is here or he may seek a fresh date,” Singhvi added.
The case to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper was registered recently. The agency, officials said, wants to record the statements of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The agency recently questioned senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation. The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of ED’s investigation to understand the share holding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said. The agency registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
The first family of the Congress party, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian. After the ED examined Kharge last month, the Congress’ whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore accused the government of “harassing” him.
Tagore said the government wants to insult Dalit leaders and added that Kharge would not surrender to such tactics. BJP MP Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.
Addressing a press conference on the issue on Wednesday, Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Abbishek Manu Singhvi said, “This is a politics of vendetta and revenge by the BJP to target opposition leaders as they have done to other opponents in the country.”
The Congress leaders said that there is no case made out of it and its only intention is “malafide”. As there is no money involved in the case, the Congress sources say that the case was closed in 2015.
Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “National Herald newspaper was started in 1942. At that time the British tried to close it, today Modi government is also doing the same thing as the Britishers did. Now the ED is being used for this purpose. The Enforcement Directorate has given notice to our president Sonia Gandhi and former president Rahul Gandhi.”
The Delhi High Court in February last year issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response on Swamy’s plea seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court. They, however, contended in the Delhi High Court that the plea by Swamy was “misconceived and premature”. The other accused in this case filed by Swamy are Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda. They have earlier said that they did nothing wrong.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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